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@met 'i HENRY-J. HANCOCK.

Tor -NEWHYORK N. Y.y

.Letters Patent No. 87,666, datedMa/rch 9, 1869.

IMPRovED STEP AND. :exTENsIoN-LAJJDER The Schedule referred rein these Letters Patent and making part of the Inma.

To allwhom it .may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J HANCOCK, of the city, county, and Stateof New York, have invented a new anduseful Combined Step-Ladder, Extension-Ladder, and Scailold; and `I do hereby declare that 4the following'is a full, clear, land exact description ofthe same,

reference 'being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specifi-cation.

This invention consists in an apparatus of.novel construction; convertible, at pleasure, into a step-ladder,

an extension-ladder, or a scaffold, and also, if desirable,

into a bedstead.

Referring to the accompanying drawingsr Figure 1 represents` the apparatus, when folded for transportation or storage;

corresponding each other, by

.ladder A, by means of -a pivot or rod, c, and are con'- nected to the ladder B by'a similar rod or pivot, e, passing through themrat a point, was, and through the lower portionofthe said ladder B, at a point, yy, leaving the lowerextremities ,of the braces GO projecting beyond the said rod or pivot e, to serve4 as supportsfor the apparatus in some of its capacities. 4 y

The lower end of the ladder B is or may be provided vlietween its rst andl second steps, with a box, y, for

ntaining the tools of the workman, or for other articles.

h is a lid or cover to said box g, hinged at, its upper edge to the second step, and is providedwitha hooked projection, fi., upon itsrlower inner side, for a purpose hereinafter explained. r

Toforrn the apparatsjiorn its folded position, as represented iu g. 1,'into a step-ladder, as represented in iig. 2, the hooks aware unhooked from th'eir staples a aL', and the ladders separated or moved out at the bottom, until hooks b b, which are pivoted'at the upper -end of the ladder B,'will t o ver pins ff, at the upper lend of the ladder A,`while'the braces O C, with their lower' ends outwardly extended, serve as supports for the structure,as represented.

To form the apparatus into an extended ladder, as 'represented in g. 3, the long hooks b b are unhooked from the pins or studs f j, and the ladder B, the lid h,

of the box g, ,having been fir-st opened, is raised in a vertical, or nearly vertical direction, until-its lower,

portion laps against the upperportion of the ladder A, the Braces C C turning, by means of their pivots c' and e, into the position as shown in the figure.

, The lid or coverh is then shut down over. the top step of the ladder' A, its hooked projection i locking upon the front edge 'of said step, thereby confining the said ends of the two ladders firmly together".

Suitable hooks may be substituted for this purpose, instead of the lid h, lif it should be preferred td keep the box closed, or when it is desirable, in the cous ction of theapparatus, to dispense with said box and lid altogether. l

To form the apparatus into a scaffold, as shown in iig. 4.,A the' lid h is detached from the stepof the ladder A, over which it had been locked, and the ladder vB` allowed to swing over, upon its pivot c,.into a horizontal position, its lower end tting into notches k, outd in the ladder' A, at a suitable location thereon, for reception of said end, when the ladder B is in said position.

The parts are confined-together in this relative position, by locking the aforesaid hooks a a into staples jj, provided upon the upper sides of braces() G, at points thereon most suitable for said 4locking-engagementjand the outer or extendedendof said ladder B is supported by a pendent frame, D, hinged to the outer extremity of said ladder, thereby serving as legs for the same.

To convert the apparatus into a bedstead, the long hooks b b are turned downward, at rightv angles to the ladder B, to serve as legs or supports, and the hooks' a a being unhooked from the staples jj, and the` hinged frame D folded inwardly, the ladder B still retaining its horizontal position, is lowered, until the lower ends of the braces C O, by the swinging round of said braces, and the hooks, or legs b Ig, touch the ground, or other surface upon which the structure is placed.

While tlrus`converted into a bedstead, the box g cornes in' suitable position to b e used as a place of deposit, where the sleeperds money and other valuables may be safely kept while he sleeps.

lo fold the apparatus for transportation or storage, the outer extremity of the ladder B is brought over in the direction of the upper end-of the ladder A, when the two ladders may be brought side by side, andthe hooks a a'hooked into the loops or staplesfa. a.

' The bedstead may also be formed by inverting the scaffold, the ladder A and frame D serving as supports for a mosquito-bar.

' What I claim as my invention, and desire to have secured by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the ladders A B, the braces C O, andthe hooks and studs bt and fj, to form a step-ladder, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination of the ladders A B, the braces 0 O, and the hooked lid, or`cover h, to form 'an extension-ladder, substantially as herein-described.

3; The combination of the ladders A B, the braces O 0hooks and staples a a and j j,fand the hinged frame or legs D, to forma scaold, substantially as described.

4. The combination ofthe ladders A B, braces O O, and legs b b, to describerLf Witnesses: v HENRY J. HAN COCK.

FRED. HAYNns, v `J. W', Gooruns.`

form a bedstead, substantially as herein 

